A set of customary late shows from Germany mustered another EuroHockey Indoor Championship as the top-ranked women’s team defeated host Czechia 5-2 in Prague. It was a hat-trick of wins and their 18th in all.
It crowned an amazing weekend of resilience and belief for the side who were on the brink of elimination in the group stages but summoned superb comebacks against both Belgium and Spain to reach this decider.
And they showed their mettle once again in the final to see off the first-time finalists who had their own fairytale story, stunning Austria with two goals in the last 45 seconds of Saturday’s semi-final.
Natálie Hájková put the hosts in front to the delight of the home crowd packed into the UNYP Arena, firing in from the penalty spot in the second minute.
Germany fought back and got over the disappointment of a missed stroke of their own to draw level before the end of Q1 via Philine Drumm.
And they went ahead via the same method in the 17th minute through Charlotte Gerstenhöfer, her powerful flick down the middle channel making it 2-1. It remained that way to half-time when Julia Sonntag – in her last international match – stood tall to block out Kateřina Laciná and Nikola Babická.
The third goal came courtesy of the press which has served Germany so well this weekend, Gerstenhöfer stealing possession off the Czech defence on the edge of the circle and flicking in on her backhand.
Charlotte Hendrix made it 4-1 when she chased down a long ball into the corner, robbed the ball and slipped in another. And, fittingly, captain Fenja Poppe – the hero of the semi-final – completed the scoring with a final minute corner for the fifth goal.
Czechia did get one back on the final hooter but too late to affect the destination of the title.
Laura Kern’s calmly taken goal with just three seconds remaining saw Austria win the bronze medal for a third time – the others in 1998 and 2024 – as they broke Spanish hearts with a 3-2 victory.
Belgium produced their best finish since 1977 as their 4-3 win over Ukraine secured fifth place overall.
Player of the tournament: Marta Grau (Spain)
Best goalkeeper: Barbora Čecháková (Czechia)
Top goalscorer: Karyna Leonova (Ukraine)
Under-21 Talent: Katharina Proksch (Austria)
Women’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship 2026 – final rankings
1. Austria
2. Czechia
3. Austria
4. Spain
5. Belgium
6. Ukraine
7. Switzerland
8. Poland
9. Ireland – relegated to Championship II for 2028
10. Lithuania – relegated to Championship II for 2028
